Influenced by the cinematic appeal of Oliver Twist and portraying the importance of being kind and generous at Christmas time, the video illustrates how the Christmas spirit can be manifested in a practical way and explains how to show love during the holidays and always.
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Damian Spiteri is a singer songwriter from the island of Malta who aspires to write songs that convey messages of hope to people. He is also a Christian and thereby often infuses Christian messages in his songs. His first release “Shine at Christmas” is a clear example of this, as through the medium of this song, he directs listeners to the true spirit of the Nativity by speaking about the importance of caring, of sharing, and of love. “Shine at Christmas” has a traditional ‘twist’ to it, applying the use of Christmas bells as is done in traditional Andalusian Christmas music, including the song “Campana Sobre Campana” (Bells Over Bells) – a favorite among Spanish-speaking children.
“Shine at Christmas” was recorded at Beat Street Studios in Leeds to a musical accompaniment provided by Studio Pros in the US. Damian has filmed a musical video for Shine at Christmas at Popeye Village which is best known internationally for the 1980 Musical Production ‘Popeye,’ but also serves as one of the major tourist attractions on the Maltese Islands. The music video has been produced by AGB Media, a Maltese video production company. The idea for the video came about since Damian was strongly inspired by the cinematic appeal of “Christmas Children” from the movie Scrooge wherein an old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when he is haunted by three ghosts on Christmas Eve.
Damian is working on developing other songs and has also released “Come Back to Me”, a love song and speaks of his desperation when the person he loved left him and he pleaded with this person to love him again. The song is purposely constructed to elicit a physical response in people. He specifically mentions touch and eye to eye contact in the song since he believes that touch and honesty are the essence of how two people who are in love express their love for one another. He is currently working on developing his next song “Migrants” which is based on research that he had undertaken with migrants from Africa in Malta and that he has incorporated in a book that he has written. The book is entitled ‘Multiculturalism, Higher Education and Intercultural Education’ that has been published by Palgrave Macmillan (NY & London). He is also working on Ave Maria which is a traditional prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus and that has been put to music by different composers including Schubert and Bach. Even though their music dates from the early and mid-1800s it has remained popular till today and is regularly sung in church functions and other formal religious events.
Damian Spiteri “Shine at Christmas” Official Music Video
Click the photo above to download the broadcast master!
